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Tag Archive | 10G SFP

Today’s technology presents unprecedented migration incorporating a wide range of application requirements such as database, transaction processing, data warehousing, integrated audio/video, real-time computing, and collaborative projects. Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet, both are the ideal solutions for IT professionals who need reliable, cost-effective information storage and delivery at fast speeds. Fibre Channel is available in 1G/2G/4G/8G/16G FC and 10GFCoE, 40GFCoE and 100GFCoE nowadays. Gigabit Ethernet is the reigning network for data center and server room. The battle between Fibre Channel and Ethernet is complicated. However, this article will help you solve it out by comparing 10G SFP+ Fibre Channel transceiver modules and 10G Ethernet SFP+ modules.

Encoding Mechanisms of Ethernet and FC

Any time we’re transmitting or storing data, we encode it in some form or another. Then we need to understand the encoding mechanisms of Ethernet and FC.

1, 2, 4, and 8 Gb Fibre Channel all use 8b/10b encoding. Meaning, 8 bits of data gets encoded into 10 bits of transmitted information, the two bits are used for data integrity. For example, Original 1Gb FC is actually 1.0625Gb/s, and each generation has kept this standard and multiplied it. 8Gb FC would be 8×1.0625, or actual bandwidth of 8.5Gb/s. 8.5*.80 = 6.8. 6.8Gb of usable bandwidth on an 8Gb FC link.

10GE (and 10G FC, for that matter) uses 64b/66b encoding. For a 10Gb link using 64b/66b encoding, that leaves 96.96% of the bandwidth for user data, or 9.7Gb/s.

10G SFP+ Fibre Channel Transceiver Module

10G SFP+ Fibre Channel (FC) transceiver, as the name implies, is the 10G optical transceivers used for Fibre Channel applications. 10G FC SFP+ module has the same footprint as SFP form factor and is compliant with MSA SFF-8431. 10G SFP+ Fibre Channel transceivers uses the either the 850nm VCSEL as the transmitter fro multimode fiber or 1310nm/1550nm laser as the transmitters for single-mode fibers in SONET OC-192 /SDH, 10GBASE-SW, 10GBASE-LW, 10GBASE-EW, and 10GBASE-ZW applications.

Cisco DS-SFP-FC10G-LW, seen in the above image, is the long-range single-mode 10G SFP+ FC optical module for a link length of 10km over 1310nm wavelength. 10GFC is backward compatible with previous generation 8G/4G/2GFC and will auto-negotiate down to the fastest speed supported by both ports. This allows 10GFC devices and switches to be seamlessly integrated into expansion segments of existing FC networks without a forklift upgrade.

Without denying, Ethernet is the dominating network for every data center and server room. The “old” Ethernet network—1Gb/s and 10Gb/s speeds relied heavily on TCP to deliver data, which was reliable but somewhat unpredictable. However, today’s Ethernet runs at 25, 40, 50, or 100Gb/s speeds, is no longer dependent on TCP alone. It also supports RDMA connections which lower latency and frees up CPU cycles to run applications. 100Gb/s technology is quite matured in 2017 and there are many relevant devices available on the market, such as CFP/QSFP28 optical transceivers, 100G switches and network interface cards, 24 fiber MTP cables, etc.

Meanwhile, FC is still transitioning to 16/32 Gb/s technology (32Gb/s is not mature), which is quite slower than what Ethernet was supporting several years ago. For 32Gb/s FC network, it still supports only block storage traffic. Other storage (and other non-storage) traffic will require an Ethernet network anyway.

If we look at what is coming in 2017, the battle will not be 10/40/100GbE Vs. 8/10/16/32Gb FC. Almost everyone would agree that it would be nice to have a single network for all traffic, and very few users want a new protocol and the challenges of changing the way that they do things.

Conclusion

FC or Ethernet, which is best for storage? 10Gb FC SFP+ has the same usable bandwidth as the 10Gb Ethernet SFP+, and without the overhead of FCoE, but you don’t get the consolidation benefits of using the same physical link for your storage and traditional Ethernet traffic. FS.COM offers reliable 10G SFP+ transceivers in Ethernet, FC, BiDi, CWDM/DWDM applications. If you are interested in our products, please contact us directly.

How to choose fiber optic cables for 10G SFP+ transceivers? It seems like a dumb question for most of the fiber optic technicians. However, there are still some people, especially the green-hand network installers, may not know the compatibility between fiber optic cables and optical transceiver modules. Today, I want to make a clear illustration of how to choose the right transmission media (OS2/OM3/OM4/Cat6/Cat6a) for 10G SFP+ optical transceiver modules.

Overview of SFP+ Optical Transceiver Module

Before coming to the main part of this article, let’s first have a brief overview of the SFP+ optical transceiver modules and 10G fiber & copper cables.

10GBASE SFP+ optical transceivers

SFP+ optical transceivers, according to the IEEE standards, can be divided into several types, for example, 10GBASE-LRM SFP+, 10GBASE-LR, 10GBASE-ER SFP+, 10GBASE-ZR SFP+, 10GBASE-SR SFP+, 10GBASE-T SFP+. Each SFP+ optical transceiver type has its own specification and usage that are not be listed here. For more, please review the previous articles.

BiDi SFP+ Modules

Besides the above 10GBASE SFP+ modules, 10GBASE-CWDM SFP+, 10GBASE-DWDM SFP+ and SFP+ BiDi optical transceiver modules are also the most commonly used 10G SFP+ optics. SFP+ BiDi optical transceiver usually uses two different wavelength to achieve 10G transmission over one fiber. The most frequently used wavelength of BiDi optical module is 1310nm/1550nm, 1310nm/1490nm, 1510nm/1590nm.

CWDM/DWDM SFP+ Modules

The Coarse Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (CWDM) and Dense Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (DWDM) SFP+ optics are the convenient and cost-effective solution for the adoption of 10 Gigabit Ethernet in campus, data-center, and metropolitan-area access networks. This 10G fiber optic transceiver type can support up to eight channels of 10GbE over single-mode fibers for distance over 80km.

10G Fiber & Copper Patch Cables

Fiber optic cables can be categorized into two types: single-mode and multimode fiber optic cables. They have different core size and fiber optic transmission equipment, which makes them suitable in different applications. Single-mode fiber patch cables, or OS1/OS2 (OS1 is now not popular on the market) are normally used for long-distance transmission with laser diode based equipment.

Multimode fiber cables, or OM1/OM2/OM3/OM4, have a relatively large light carrying core, usually utilized for short-distance transmission with LED based equipment. OM1, with a core size of 62.5um, supports 1GB network within 300m. OM2 (50um) can support up to 10GB, with a distance of 600m. OM3 and OM4 are the laser-optimized multimode fibers, which can be used in 10GB network with a link length of 300m, 550m respectively. These types of optical cables can be also used on 40G/100G network utilizing a MTP/MPO connector.

Cat6/Cat6a cables are the Copper Ethernet Network cables used for 10G network. Compared with Cat5e (1 Gigabits of data) and Cat5 cables (10/100 Mbps), Cat6 is the Ethernet cable that can handle up to 10Gbps with the distance limited to 164ft. Cat6a is the advanced version of Cat6 cables that further reduce crosstalk, which makes it can support the full 328 feet of Ethernet cable.

Multimode fibers, especially the OM3 and OM4 cables, are supported for 10GBASE-SR SFP+ transceiver modules. The following chart displays the part No. of customized OM3 and OM4 cables.

Customized Part ID

Connector

Fiber Mode

Polish Types

Jacket

Stock Length

17235

LC Duplex

50/125 OM4

UPC

PVC

1m-30m (3ft-98ft)

17235

LC Duplex

50/125 OM4

UPC

LSZH

1m-15m (3ft-49ft)

17235

LC Duplex

50/125 OM4

UPC

OFNP

1m-15m (3ft-49ft)

12018

LC Duplex

50/125 OM3

UPC

PVC

1m-30m (3ft-98ft)

12018

LC Duplex

50/125 OM3

UPC

LZSH

1m-30m (3ft-98ft)

12018

LC Duplex

50/125 OM3

UPC

OFNP

1m-15m (3ft-49ft)

Cat6 and Cat6a Patch cables can be only used on the 10GBASE-T SFP+ transceivers.

Keep in mind, the newly available SFP+ copper transceiver modules can only support up to 30m.

Conclusion

This article lists all the existing the 10G fiber & copper patch cables and SFP+ transceiver module types, as well as the guidance about how to select the right patch cables for 10G SFP+ optical transceivers. FS.COM offers a full range of SFP+ optical transceiver modules and patch cables. Please contact us if you need any help.

Recently, People have gotten the question about whether I can use the SFP transceivers in a 10g SFP slot. Users who purchase a 10G switch wondered if they could use SFP modules in the SFP+ slot (since they both have the same size and use the LC connectors) to achieve 1G data rate. Or can I use the SFP+ modules in SFP slot to have the 10G data links? To deal with this doubt, researches have been made to provide the objective solutions here.

In Most Cases, SFP Can be Plugged into SFP+ Ports

If you are asking if an SFP+ port will accept an SFP, then the answer is almost certainly yes. Not all SFP transceivers will be compatible with all devices though. Some device makers require that the SFP or SFP+ transceiver have a branded firmware on it. That is why some SFPs are marketed as Cisco brand or HP brand or Dell brand or whatever. The hardware is all from the same Chinese factory but before they are shipped they are loaded with a firmware that marks them as being compatible with a particular brand of device. You don’t need the same brand of transceiver at both ends unless you use the same brand of switch on both ends. The transceiver should be purchased to be compatible with the device you are inserting it into (not connecting the cable to). This isn’t always necessary, only some devices have strict compatibility requirements. However, you really never know until it is too late so make sure you buy your SFPs from somewhere that will assure the compatibility and has a good return policy.

The most I have had to do to make an SFP work in an SFP+ slot is to configure the interface before inserting the SFP. Sometimes you have to tell the switch/router vendors that the port is going to run at 1000 megabit before you insert the SFP.

SFP+ Can’t Auto-negotiate to Support SFP Module

Most SFP+ ports accept SFP optics, but it can’t auto negotiation to the 1G SFP modules. In fact, most (95+%) SFPs and SFP+s will only run at the rated speed, no more, no less. Besides, there is no such thing as a SFP+ that does 1G on one side (towards the fiber) and then does 10G on another side (towards the unit). Though we can use SFP in SFP+ ports in many cases, that doesn’t mean a SFP+ plugged into the SFP port can support 1G. For example, a Cisco Meraki SFP-10GB-SR can only support 10G data rate plugging into a SFP+ slots in the 10G switch.

Additionally, in a fiber link, if we plug a SFP in the SFP+ port on one side (1G), and then plug a SFP+ in the SFP+ port on the another side (10G), this may not work! You just can’t have 10 GbE at one end and 1 GbE at the other. For this question, if you use SFP+ copper twinax cable, it also can’t negotiate down to 1G.

Conclusion

To sum up, the SFP+ slots will take 1Gb SFP optics though, SFP modules can not be connected with SFP+ optics. And make sure you use the same fiber link at the both ends in a fiber optic network. This is actually a complex question, there is no exact answer now. Always remember to talk with your vendors first before making the next move, or you will end up with an error. FS.COM as a professional telecom supplier, offers a full range of optical devices including fiber optic cables, optical transceivers (SFP/SFP+/QSFP+/CFP, etc.), fiber patch panels, DAC/AOC cables. If you want to know more about our company, please contact us directly.